Summer + Kabobs

Well, I have officially been gone since February! I am not exactly sure where the past 6 months have gone. From February until May, I was consumed with graduate school and graduated in May! I'm still pretty stoked about that. From May until June, I was finishing up the school year. And since then I've been traveling the country! What a summer it's been. We've been to Louisiana, Alabama, Philadelphia, California, Delaware, the Florida Keys, and Ft. Lauderdale! Somewhere in there, I also found out that I am pregnant! I am about 18 weeks along now and we are so excited for our first baby to arrive in December! It's been a crazy summer, but so much fun! It's been great having all this time with my husband. He starts a new job this week and we've been so blessed to have so much time together this summer. I'm going to miss him when he starts. I apologize for being gone, but I'm so excited to share some new recipes with you!

With summer in full force, the heat is also in full force. We have been trying to do whatever we can to keep the air conditioning from overworking itself. One thing that really helps is to use the grill instead of the stove and oven. It keeps the heat outside instead of in the kitchen! Some of the most versatile things that I have really grown to love are kabobs. They are so easy and you can really tailor them to what you like.

For these kabobs, you'll need: 2-3 chicken breasts, red and green bell peppers, zucchini squash. For the marinade, you'll need: honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, 1 lemon, salt and pepper.

1. In a medium bowl, mix 2 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. vinegar, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. lemon zest, the juice of the lemon (remember to zest before you cut!), and 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Whisk together well.

2. Chop vegetables and meat making sure that all of your pieces are relatively the same size. This is important so that everything cooks evenly.

I chose to use peppers and zucchini because it's what I had from my garden. Onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, and peaches are also very good on kabobs.

3. Mix your vegetables and meat into the marinade. Obviously, the longer that you let it marinade, the more flavor the food will have. I suggest letting it sit in the marinade in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. (If you're using fish as your protein, and citrus in the marinade, you shouldn't marinade for more than 10-15 minutes, or the fish will cook-- also known in Hispanic food as ceviche!)

4. Place your meat and veggies/fruits on the skewers. I have metal skewers that can be washed and reused. If you are using wooden skewers, you'll want to soak them in water for about 20 minutes before using. That will keep them from burning. Either type of skewer is just fine. When adding the meat and produce, place them closely together so that they barely touching each other.

4. Grill on a hot grill, about 400 degrees. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes or until the meat is done.

5. Remove from grill and enjoy! You can enjoy kabobs by themselves, but if you need something else, they are also good served with rice, quinoa, or another grain. When I made these kabobs, we enjoyed them over a salad. It was delicious!

More ideas for kabobs:

chicken + pineapple and broccoli + citrus marinade

steak + tomatoes and mushrooms + Worcestershire sauce marinade

shrimp kabobs + squash and peppers + spicy marinade

Basic tips:

The basic components of a kabob are a meat, vegetables, fruits, and usually a marinade or dry spices. I do not recommend having more than one type of meat on one kabob, because different meats have different cooking time. If you want steak and chicken, just put them on two separate skewers and it will be fine. Also, a part of any marinade should include some form of oil so that the kabob does not stick to the grill. If you're using dry spices, you should spray the grill with some type of non-stick spray.

I hope that you're staying cool this summer and that you enjoy these kabobs! They are so easy, quick, and helps you keep your house cool during these hot days!

Our tee-tiny garden

Part 1 and Part 2 of my Favorite things about Summer have revolved around gardens! I love gardens. I love spending time in gardens. Some of my most cherished memories were made in a garden, either playing hide and go seek, spending time with family, or learning a new recipe.

Since I've been married to Dan, we've always had a little garden, but its had to be in pots because we lived in apartments. Last September, we bought a house in the Charlotte area and we were so excited to actually have a little garden in the ground! It really is the simple things!

So this year, we planted tomatoes, a few kinds of peppers, and some herbs. During the fall, we plan to plant some winter greens, carrots, and lettuce. Here's a little bit of our garden:

 Bell Peppers

 Tomatoes

My favorite: Basil

We also have blueberry bushes, but it may take a few years for them to get started. I'm hopeful that they'll make next year.

Last night, I made vegetable soup for supper. Everything on our table, except the ingredients in the cornbread, came from our yard, my grandparents, or a local produce stand. There is something very satisfying in that for me. Gardens are so much fun and rewarding. Planting a few plants in pots is the easiest way to get started and figure out what you like! :)

What are your favorite vegetables/fruits to grow?

Things I love about Summer... Part 2

Something else that I love about Summer is....

OKRA

I am absolutely head over heels in love with okra! As any Southern girl should be, I suppose. There is something so relaxing about spending a couple of hours in my grandparents' garden with them just talking and cutting okra. If you don't have a garden to get fresh okra from, have no fear! You can stop by a produce stand during the summer months and pick up some!

Some people complain about the ooey-gooey-ness of okra. But, with these recipes, you're sure to enjoy this little Southern gem.

My top 3 favorite things to do with okra:
1. Fry it! Everything is better fried, right? Cut the tops and bottoms off of the okra and discard. Cut the okra into small slices and sprinkle corn meal on it stirring to ensure that all piece are coated lightly. In a skillet, heat up about 4 tbsp. of canola oil. Once the oil is hot, toss in the okra. Let the okra cook for about 30 minutes, turning over about every 10 minutes. Cook it until its dark brown and crispy. If the pan is dry, add a little bit more oil as needed.

2. Put it in vegetable soup! I love fresh veggie soup, so much that I freeze it also! Add some sliced okra to your normal veggie soup at the beginning.

3. Grill it! During the summer, I hardly ever use my stove. The grill is where it's at! Take okra and cut the tops off. Slice down the center long ways. Spray with some non-stick olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put on the grill. Let it grill about about 4 minutes on each side.

Do you have any other delicious ideas for okra?

Things I love about Summer... Part 1

Happy Monday! Let me start off by saying, summer is my favorite season! I thrive during the summer.

One of my favorite things about summer is growing veggies and herbs in our yard. Actually, until this year, we've had our "garden" in pots because we've lived in apartments. This year, we're in our house and actually have land to plant things in! Anyway, one of my favorite things to grow is basil. I could eat basil plain! It's sweet, yet kind of peppery. You can throw basil in jarred spaghetti sauce, pasta, scones, etc. But, my favorite thing to do with basil is make pesto!

During the winter months, I crave fresh produce and sauces! So, a few years ago, I decided to freeze pesto and see what happens. Turns out, it's just as delicious as when you first made it.

If you don't have a recipe for pesto or if you've never made it- here and here are good, easy recipes! If you want a healthier pesto- substitute half of the olive oil with lemon juice.

Make a big batch of pesto... and place about 1/2 cup of pesto in individual ziplock freezer bags and roll up so that all of the pesto is in the bottom of the bag. Place in freezer!

Now, in January when you're craving summer- like I do... take one bag out and place in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 15 minutes to thaw it. Hot water can sometimes turn it brown. Then, use pesto as you normally would.

My favorite way to eat it: on whole wheat pasta with chicken! You can clip one corner of the plastic bag off and squeeze out. No mess!

Are there any other sauces that you like to freeze?

7 days!

It's so hard to believe that I'm 7 [school] days away from completing my first year of teaching. I've known for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher and I worked really hard 4 years in college to get to the point of becoming a teacher. I always planned on teaching in Clemson, SC- but God has a way of changing plans. I'm finishing my 1st year of teaching in Charlotte, NC and couldn't be more happy about it. I'm amazed at all Jesus has done this school year. For the past few weeks, I've left work thinking- this is the abundant life that God has called me to have. All 90 of my 1st class of fifth graders will always have a special place in my heart. I'm so thankful and can't wait for next school year... but not before summer break!

My summer break's calendar has quickly filled up and includes lots of traveling! Somethings I'm looking forward to are Phoenix, Grand Canyon, visiting Dan's family (unfortunately, without Dan), my mother-in-law having her last surgery dealing with breast cancer, hiking vacation with Dan, family vacation on Topsail Island, being 2/3 of the way done with grad school, and having some lazy days...

:)

Life as we know it...

We've been so incredibly busy the past few months. I've been working hard at graduate school. I'll be half way done in about two weeks. My official graduation date in May 2012. Unfortunately, Winthrop wasn't offering enough classes for me to take this summer to be able to graduate in December.

We've been busy working in our yard. It's been a lot of fun making it ours. We started a little herb/veggie garden. I grew up gardening with my parents and grandparents. I hated it then, but its so therapeutic now. The previous homeowners had rosemary, cilantro, and parsley growing. I thought that they died over the winter, but it all came back to life! I added tomatoes and peppers. I'm ready for lots of fresh salsa and fresh tomato soup.

We've also planted hydrangeas, blueberry bushes, and a blackberry bush. When we lived in Clemson, I visited the Happy Berry Farm almost twice a week. I knew that I was destined to have blueberry bushes once we owned a home... and now I have them. I don't know if they'll make blueberries this year, but I'm hoping!

Our family is coming in this Thursday. Dan's mom and dad are coming down to see our house. They haven't been able to come down since Christmas 2009, so its going to be so great to have them down. They haven't seen our new house or really Charlotte at all. When they came in 2009, we had just moved to Charlotte, seriously, 5 days before they came. So, we are really excited to just show them around Charlotte, take them to our favorite restaurants, and take them Elevation on Easter! It's going to be a fun weekend.

We also had the pleasure of having Vanessa Schrotenboer take our pictures as a gift to us. She's amazing! I'll leave you with couple of pictures.